Obiymy Doschu Elehia Review (ulalume)

Pros

Cons

-There are none.

Full Review

Obiymy Doschu is my latest musical pleasure. I have been relatively low on money as of late, and have found myself turning towards alternative methods to find music. Luckily I was able to stumble upon a free metal music blog which archives music that many bands give away for free. I was happy when that day came because I do not like when people pirate music. As a musician myself the amount of work that goes into a single composition can be painstaking. If you compare a piece of modern pop rock to something like Obiymy Doschu's atmosphere and instrumentation, you will find there is little similarity.

Obiymy Doschu comes from Ukraine, and the influence of their culture is very present on this album. All of the lyrics are in their native tongue (I do not understand them, to say the least). The instrumentation also meshes occasional aspects of doom metal (very lightly), the slow/acoustic moments of Opeth, and the ethnic atmosphere in how the acoustics, synths, and other orchestral instruments are played and arranged.

Musically, I was very impressed by Obiymy Doschu. This is one of the few freely downloadable albums that I would be willing to buy at a local CD store. The mixture of light heavy metal with true folk music is just exceptionally done. The distortion guitars are not overdone, and oftentimes sound more distant in the mix so as to not really come across as a driving distortion tone found in so much metal music. The tonality is very atmospheric and coincides very well with the other instruments. Other instruments present are violins, pianos, and flutes (among others I am sure). The acoustic guitar playing is also expertly done. I have difficulty truly putting my feeling for the atmosphere presented in the eight tracks into words. The male vocalist has an amazing singing voice. You can definitly hear hiss Russian accent, yet he expels the lyrics to the songs in such a passionate way. When I first began listening he sounded very similar to Italian singer Josh Groban. It is pretty intense to hear that type of vocal stylings and romantic/passionate feeling on a "metal" album. There is also a female vocalist who adds an essence of beauty that dances with the male vocals. As I have stated, I can not understand the lyrics; however they do generally seem to be very passionate (to say the least).

Ultimately, Obiymy Doschu free release is a must download. They are planning to sell it in physical form soon, and I may just be compelled to pick it up to support them (if its possible, considering I am from the USA). This album is well suited for any listener. If you like folk music, you will enjoy this. If you like passionate operaic type of vocals, such as those of Josh Groban; this may well be for you as well. If you like symphonic heavy metal, you will enjoy this. It is well rounded and beautifully constructed.

In Closing

This album is basically perfect. Any small flaws are worthless of mentioning because the overall feeling I get from listening to these songs is just amazing. The amount of instruments used and how skillfully the arrangements are put together are nothing short of amazing. Pick up this album!